EXAMPLE: You owe $100,000 in mixed beverage sales tax on your next return, but you are due a $20,000 refund because you overpaid tax on a 2015 return. You can report tax due of $80,000 on this return. Total gross amount for all locations (line 11) would be $1,194,029 ($80,000/.067; 6.7 percent is the 2015 rate). Be sure to keep good records to show why and how the reduction was made.

You can also amend an original return you filed. Follow the instructions on the form used to file the original return. You cannot electronically file an amended return that reduces the tax due after the due date for the period being amended.

It is not necessary to file amended returns for separate periods in separate envelopes. For efficient processing, the Comptroller’s office will review all the amended returns filed at the same time.

While waiting for a response about the approval or denial of your credit, keep filing mixed beverage gross receipts tax reports and paying the tax due. If you fail to report and pay mixed beverage gross receipts tax liabilities on time, you will be assessed penalties and interest on the unreported or unpaid amounts.

Assignees of and Successors to Permitted Sellers

A permitted seller can assign a right to refund to a third party such as a creditor, settlement trustee or successor entity. The Comptroller’s office will treat the refund claim as if the original seller had submitted it. The assignee must comply with the same requirements as the seller when filing any refund claim, including the requirement to refund or credit tax paid in error to any purchasers.

If the person seeking a refund of tax they paid is not the person who remitted the tax to the Comptroller’s office, submit Form 00-985, Assignment of Right to Refund (PDF). A separate form is required for each vendor to whom the tax was paid in error, and each form must be signed by authorized personnel.

Note: If the Comptroller is currently auditing you for Mixed Beverage Sales Tax that was overpaid, ask the auditor about including any refund in the audit. This may decrease the penalty and interest assessed in the audit and increase your refund.

Generally, a person or business has four years from the date on which the tax was due and payable to make a refund claim. However, the statute of limitations (the amount of time a person has to request a refund) may be extended if:

An Agreement to Extend Period of Limitation is executed. This extends the time to file a refund request and is generally signed during an audit of your books and records.

The Comptroller’s office uses supporting documentation to verify refund claims and can request additional information for each transaction during the verification process. The items can include, but are not limited to:

date of sale or service;

name and address of purchaser;

source records of sale or service;

copy of invoice, if applicable;

evidence that the tax was paid to the Comptroller;

specific reason for the refund, such as statutory authority;

all payments or credits applied to the account of the purchaser;

all financial ledgers, journals and registers; and

total amount of tax refund requested.

If the Comptroller’s office requests that you submit invoices and you have more than 10, please provide these in a schedule format. Use the sample schedule (PDF) as a guide.

There are three possible outcomes to a refund claim: approved, incomplete or denied/partially denied.

Approved Claims

After the Comptroller’s office has approved a refund claim, we will mail a refund check to the person or entity entitled to the refund. Factors such as the timely filing discount, penalties, credit interest or an existing liability can affect the refund amount.

We will send a refund check unless the claimant is set up to receive refunds by direct deposit. If you have not already been set up for direct deposit, contact the Revenue Accounting Division at 512-463-4561 to obtain Form 74-221, Tax Refund Direct Deposit Authorization to initiate the process to receive payments electronically.

Incomplete Claims

The statute of limitations will not be tolled (does not end) until a refund claim includes all of the required elements. The Comptroller’s office will notify the claimant of the additional information needed.

Denied or Partially Denied Claims

The Comptroller’s office will notify the claimant if the refund cannot be granted in full or in part and will identify the reason(s) for the denial. The claimant can contest the denial by requesting a refund hearing within 60 days of the denial.

If a refund hearing is requested timely, the Comptroller’s office can issue a written demand notice for all documentation needed to verify the claim. This documentation must be submitted within 180 days of the date of the demand notice. Documents not timely submitted as requested by the demand notice cannot be introduced as evidence in a refund hearing.

HB855 Browser Statement

In 2015, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 855, which requires state agencies to publish a list of the three most commonly used Web browsers on their websites. The Texas Comptroller’s most commonly used Web browsers are Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Apple Safari.